'Scandal' actor Columbus Short charged with felony

Thursday

Mar 27, 2014 at 12:01 AMMar 27, 2014 at 7:30 AM

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Columbus Short, a lead actor on the television series "Scandal," was arrested Wednesday on a felony charge that he seriously injured a man during an altercation at a restaurant earlier this month.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Columbus Short, a lead actor on the television series "Scandal," was arrested Wednesday on a felony charge that he seriously injured a man during an altercation at a restaurant earlier this month.

Short was arrested by police in Claremont on a warrant issued in a case that alleges he committed a battery that caused serious bodily harm.

The actor was involved in a dispute with a man at a West Los Angeles restaurant March 15 before Short hit the man and knocked him out, according to Los Angeles police and prosecutors. Further details about the altercation were not released.

Short, 31, plays attorney Harrison Wright on ABC's hit series "Scandal." Records show he was released Wednesday after posting $50,000 bail.

If convicted, Short faces up to four years in state prison. A date for his initial court appearance has not yet been set.

A phone number for Jeff Jacquet, Short's attorney in another criminal case, had a full voicemail box, and a message sent via fax was not immediately returned.

Short was charged Feb. 14 with misdemeanor spousal battery and has pleaded not guilty in that case. A judge ordered him to stay away from his wife, Tuere Short, at a March 5 court hearing. Records show she filed for divorce last year but dismissed her petition earlier this year.

Columbus Short, who also starred in the 2007 film "Stomp the Yard," was charged with felony battery in June 2010 and pleaded no contest to the reduced charge of disturbing the peace in February 2011. He was placed on three years of informal probation and not to threaten or use violence on anyone. Court records show he paid his fines and resolved the case without issue.